At this year’s party, a Halloween-themed event held on Friday (Oct. 29), Rascal Flatts’ Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney got a treat of their own. The hospital announced plans to name its pediatric surgery center after the band, which has donated more than $3 million to the organization over the years.

“Flatts haven’t just given their money, they come by and see our children and are a part of who we are,” said John W. Brock III, M.D., surgeon in chief of the Children’s Hospital. “Through the gift (Flatts) gave, we will be able to give better care to our children, and every day we will be able to save someone’s life.”

The Rascal Flatts Surgical Center will contain all of the hospital’s new and existing surgical programs, including a new radiology suite to be used for complex surgical procedures. Construction is set to begin in early 2011.

“If we’re to leave anything behind personally or professionally, this is the highlight of our career right here,” LeVox said Friday.
The experience of being at the hospital Friday was heightened for bass player and expectant dad DeMarcus.

“I was always very touched and very moved, but when you have (a child) on the way, it definitely brings it home closer to where you are,” he said. “I think this is a day the three of us will never forget. I didn’t realize how much it would affect me until I was standing up there and saw the unveiling of the sign.”

After the unveiling, Rascal Flatts performed in an on-site theater for the hospital’s patients and their families. The group took requests from audience members, most of whom were decked in Halloween costumes, and even invited one little boy onstage to help sing the afternoon’s most requested song, “Life Is A Highway.” Then they posed for pictures and signed autographs before making in-room visits to children who couldn’t make it to the party.

“For it to have come this far and for us to have been able to do what we’ve been able to do, it’s overwhelming,” DeMarcus said. “I don’t think there are words to describe how it makes you feel, especially when you see (the children’s) faces.”